Umfrage zum Thema „ethische und moralische Belastungen von Amtstierärzten in Europa“
Dear Colleague,
I am writing to invite members of the Bundestierärztekammer to participate in a survey on the topic of ethical or moral stress in government veterinarians.
The survey is for members who are state veterinary officers, i.e. veterinarians who work for any branch of government. This includes colleagues working in local (field) offices, at central level (regional, state or federal headquarters), in slaughterhouses, in border control posts, and in official laboratories. The survey is also appropriate for those working in intergovernmental organisations.
The attached presentation gives a quick introduction to the survey in 2 slides: why we’re doing it, and the context. In summary:
“Moral stress” is the distress of knowing what one should do in an ethically challenging situation, but being constrained from so doing. It can lead to significant harm to individuals including health problems, depression, burnout, and professional disengagement.
If not managed, it can subtly damage the capacity of organisations to meet their goals, via avoidance, professional demoralisation, and high staff turnover in affected teams.
There is evidence to suggest that moral stress is a hidden workplace problem in the veterinary profession. It may particularly affect government veterinary officers working with animal welfare issues. However, to date there is little data on this issue.
This survey, which is entirely anonymous, aims to support development of strategies for individuals and organisations to tackle moral stress. More details on the background and context of the research are given in the introductory page of the survey.
The survey is for all government veterinarians in Europe. It is part of the dissertation for my master’s degree in International Animal Welfare, Ethics and Law at the University of Edinburgh and is conducted within the University of Edinburgh's data protection and ethics framework. I am supported by my employer, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in Ireland, to study for this master’s degree.
The survey has been developed with the support of a group within the University of Edinburgh including both veterinarians and non-veterinary researchers. It has been piloted by a number of state veterinary officers.
We sincerely hope you will see fit to circulate the survey to your members working in any government organisations. It takes about 25 minutes to complete but could ultimately contribute to improving the working lives of state veterinary officers, to increasing the effectiveness of state veterinary services, and to improving animal welfare via better enforcement of animal welfare rules, following the One Health approach.
This project has been brought to the attention of the EASVO (European Association of State Veterinary Officers), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH); it has been circulated to government veterinarians in Ireland by the Veterinary Officers’ Association, our professional association.
The survey can be filled at this link: https://app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/edinburgh/survey-moral-stress-in-state-veterinarians
For every survey validly completed and returned, I will donate one euro to the VIN Foundation for the VETS4VETS service, a confidential support service provided free to veterinarians, anywhere in the world: https://vinfoundation.org/resources/vets4vets/
The survey will be closed on 1st August 2025. Once the survey is complete and the results fully analysed I can share a summary of them with you if you wish – please let me know if you would like such a summary.
I would be more than willing to discuss by phone or video call if you would like further details or confirmation of any of the information above or attached.
Best regards
Aidan Cahill
Dr. Aidan Cahill | Superintending Veterinary Inspector
Animal Welfare during Transport & Horse/Pet Certification Section
Animal Welfare Division
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An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara
Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
An Teach Talmhaíochta, Sráid Chill Dara, Baile Átha Cliath 2, D02 WK12
Agriculture House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2, D02 WK12, Ireland
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T +353 (0)1 607 2087